Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake

“Even girls made of stars are captives, bound at the wrists and traded like property. Even girls made of stars aren’t asked, aren’t believed, aren’t considered worth the effort unless they can offer something in return. Even girls made of stars buy into those lies sometimes.”

Friends, I wish I could put this book into everyone in the entire world’s hands. This book is so powerful, so heartbreaking, so important, and just so beautifully crafted. But before I really even start this review, I want to preface that this review is going to talk a lot about sexual assault. And even though I implore you to pick up this book if you are able, this is a very dark book at times. Major content and trigger warnings for rape, sexual assault, physical abuse, pedophilia, bullying, depiction of grief, trauma, PTSD, and anxiety attacks. Another thing I want to touch on is that I was very surprised that this book surrounds two sexual assaults, not just the one you are originally led to believe. So, I don’t want any of you to be lulled into a sense of safety to only be hurt later on.

Girl Made of Stars is a haunting book that I wish wasn’t so perfectly done. I wish this book wasn’t so realistic. I wish this book only made me cry because of the fictional content, and not because this is the actual world we live in. But in these pages, we follow a young girl named Mara whose brother is accused of raping one of her best friends. And we get to see how this rape impacts this entire friend group. Yet, we also get to see how it impacts Mara’s family, Mara’s school, and the entire community

➽ Mara – The star of this book. Mara is also bi and has panic attacks.
➽ Owen – Mara’s twin brother, who seems perfect and is very popular.
➽ Charlie – Realizing they are nonbinary, Mara’s best friend, and also Mara’s ex.
➽ Alex – Owen’s best friend, and Korean-American.
➽ Hannah – One of Mara and Charlie’s best friend, also Owen’s girlfriend.

Every 98 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. 1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. Only 310 out of every 1,000 sexual assaults are reported to police. out of 1,000 rapes, 994 perpetrators will walk free.*

“This. This is why I never said anything. Because no one ever believes the girl.”

And we are teaching young girls to not speak up with our actions in this broken cycle of not believing them in a world that already chooses, over and over again, to not believe them. And it’s so fucking heartbreaking. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a relationship with the person. It doesn’t matter if you’ve had sex before. It doesn’t matter what you’re wearing. It doesn’t matter what you’ve said before. It doesn’t matter any circumstances; if it’s not consensual then it is rape. Rape culture is so real, so apparent, and so very much thriving in 2018.

You can love a person and still know and say that what they did was wrong. And this is a concept that we constantly cannot understand in this world. This book was extremely hard for me to read, because my brother is my best friend in this entire world, and imagining being in Mara’s situation just completely gutted me over and over again. But loving someone doesn’t give them a free pass, and I think everyone needs to be reminded of that. If you say you will believe rape victims, then you have to believe all rape victims. You don’t get to pick and choose. And I beg you to start believing. And for anyone who needs it: I believe you.

Yet, this is a story about healing and reclaiming your body after it has been violated against your wishes. There is no right thing, no right amount of time, not even any correct word combinations that will help. Sexual assaulters take so much more from the victim that people realize, and it’s something that never goes away. But it can get better, and you have to do what is right for you, at your own pace. And this story really is a love letter to that.

“Some parts of me are gone. Some others have come alive, woken by the need to fight, to matter, to be heard. Some parts are wary, others angry, others heartbroken. But I’m still me. I’m still moving.”

This book also does such a beautiful job talking about respecting people’s pronouns, gender, sexuality, and when and how they choose to come out, regardless of identities they’ve already came out about. Gender and sexuality can be so very fluid and always deserves to be respected. Everyone’s experiences are so very different, and only the individual knows what is best for them.

Overall, this was one of the hardest books for me to read all year, but I truly am so thankful that I was able to read it. I recommend this to anyone who is in the right headspace for it. And even though this was a hard book, it’s also really beautiful. I also loved the F/NB romance so very much in this one. Mara is one of my favorite characters in all of literature. And I will read every single thing Ashley Herring Blake writes forever. This is a heart-wrenching, flawless, masterpiece.

Very important review matey even though I don’t think I can bring meself to read this one. I recently got into a huge fight with a publisher for “author provocation” for calling an author out on her use of rape in a novel. The publisher and I are no longer friends. So this is a timely review for me to read especially when rape culture is still being portrayed and excused so poorly in literature. Arrr!
x The Captain

Awh, Captain, I’m sorry. But shame on that publisher. Like… it’s 2018, they should be doing better. Their loss, love! But thank you for your kind words. And I hope you’re sailing with a few good books right now, sweetheart! 💕xx

This review alone almost made me cry because it was so well done, but also true in such a heartbreaking way! I definitely want to read this book soon, but the issue of rape culture seems so important and present in our society today that it kind of scares me to read a book like this, if it makes sense? I’m scared to see the reality of our world like the way this book portrays it.
On a much happier note, this is probably one of the best reviews I’ve read! I adore the quotes you chose and you describe the book in a beautiful way. Great job!! 🙂

Awh, love… this comment made me REcry! Haha! Thank you so much for these kind words. And it means a lot that you think I did the book justice with this review. It’s such a powerful and heartfelt read. I feel so privileged to have picked it up. I know you’re going to love it, too. But make sure you’re in the right mental health for it.

Happy reading, sweetheart! And… thank you so much again. This comment made my day! 💛xx

Awh, thank you, love. I try my best, but I know I miss some sometimes. But I know how important it is to be in the right head space to read about certain things. But this comment means the world to me.

I’ve seen so many good reviews about this book, I think it’s time I give it a shot. I’ll just have to remember to not read it in public so I don’t get funny looks when I’m crying, which I imagine will happen.
Great review, love!

I already said this on Goodreads, but oh my gosh, Mel, this is such a beautiful review! You have such a way of words; I aspire to be as eloquent as you are. 💞 I’m so happy that you loved this book like I did.

Dezzy love! Ahhhh! You are so kind. Thank you again for more beautiful words; they mean more to me than you’ll ever know! And I promise, you’re more eloquent, love! I hope you’re having the happiest of reading, sweetheart! 💖xx